North Fork Will Purchase Commercial Bank
For $175 Million to Lift New York Presence

A WSJ.com News Roundup

Updated Feb. 13, 2001 4:56 p.m. ET

NEW YORK -- North Fork Bancorp , a New York metro-area bank, agreed Tuesday to purchase Commercial Bank of New York for about $175 million in cash as part of an effort to expand its presence in Manhattan.

Under terms of the deal, North Fork will pay $32 for each Commercial Bank share, a 51% premium to its price of $21.25 at 4 p.m. EST Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Commercial's shares jumped following the announcement, climbing...